Cloth marker



W. R. TRUITT Feb. 21, 1961 CLOTH MARKER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 24,1958 INVENTOR/I W.R. TRUITT Feb. 21, 1961 Filed March 24, 1958 W. R.TRUITT CLOTH MARKER 2 Sheets-Sheqt 2 United States PatentO CLOTH MARKERWilliam R. Truitt, P.0. Box 366, Bremen, Ga. Filed Mar. 24, 1953, Ser.No. 723,270

Claims. 01. 219-29 This invention relates to marking devices and moreparticularly to a cloth marker to be used by garment manufacturers.

In the clothing industry, except for the final assembly of theindividual segments of a garment, each production machine usuallyoperates on a pile or stack of material consisting of superimposed pliesof fabric. Often it is necessary to mark the pile before it can be sentto the next machine. 'When the cutter, for example, receives a pile,there must be some type of marking thereon which will indicate where hemust make the necessary cuts. Many other operators along the productionline look for particular marks on each pile which indicate wherebutton-holes, seams or hems are to be made.

Several types of cloth markers have been developed for use by thegarment manufacturers. One such device consists of a hollow needle whichis plunged into the pile, and upon withdrawal deposits a vivid dye oneach layer of fabric. Such a machine is expensive, must be supplied withexpendable dye, and requires considerable maintenance to keep the needleand the dye hose lines clear.

Another method consists of cutting small slits or notches in the edge ofthe pile with a cutting assembly. This machine must necessarily be heavyand usually is fixed rigidly to a permanent base.

Even the method of marking with a pencil is still used to some extent,with the resultant markings being inaccurate, difiicult to locate andoften obliterated prior to serving their purpose.

The present invention overcomes the objections and disadvantagesincident to prior cloth markers by providing a cloth marker that iscompact, lightweight, relatively inexpensive and utilizes a heat markingelement designed to produce clean, easily visible marks.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide acloth'marking device of the electrically heated element type whichcontains few moving parts and is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.One of the distinctive features of the invention is that the markingelements are fully exposed to be accessible to the full depth ofmaterial to be brought in contact therewith.

Another object is to provide means for adjustably positioning the heatmarking elements of a fabric marking device to provide scorched gaugemarks or guide lines of varyingdimensions.

A further object of this invention is to provide a new and improvedfabric marking device which lends itself readily to production in eithera stationary or a lightweight portable model.

The above objects and advantages of this invention will appear morefully from the following description considered together with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a stationary model of theinvention.

'Figure 2 is a perspective view similar to Figure 1 with Patented Feb.21, 1961 the outer cabinet removed to show the various internalcomponents of the apparatus.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a portable model of the inventionshowing the wire circuits therein.

Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view showing in detail the heatmarking element illustrated in Figure 3.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughoutthe several figures of the drawings.

According to Figure 1, the cabinet or housing consists of side panels 1,top 2, sloping front 3, lower front 4, and a work top 5. The cabinet ismade of any suitable material, such as galvanized sheet metal, exceptfor the work top 5, which is preferably of stainless steel. A proctor 6of stainless steel is mounted above the heat marking elements, whichwill be later described, and is provided with a plurality of heatdissipating ports 6a. Attached to the side panels 1 are flange members 7which serve as suitable handles for transporting the device.

The two heat marking elements 8, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, are madeof a suitable relatively stiff, electrically conductive wire which willobtain and withstand a high enough temperature to scorch cloth when alow voltage current is passed through them. The upper extremities of theelements 8 are attached to conductive terminal posts 9 by means of locknuts 10. The terminal posts 9 pass through and are mounted to terminalblocks 11 and 11a, which are of a suitable insulating and heatresistingmaterial such as slate. The lower segments of the two marking elements 8pass through holes in the terminal blocks 11 and 11a and are connectedin series to an electrical heating unit 12.

A heat-resisting wire 13 is connected to the lower extremity of eachterminal post 9 and is secured thereto by means of a pair of lock nuts10a. Each of these Wires leads to a secondary terminal 14 of atransformer 15. The type of transformer used receives l20-volt currentat primary connections 16 and provides a low voltage usable(approximately 7 volts) at its secondary connections 14. A pair of inputwires 17 carry the volt current to the primary connections 16. Connectedin series along one of the input wires 17 is, first, a singlepole switch18, and then a pilot light 19. A fuse 20 is similarly connected toeither one of the input Wires.

Thus it will be apparent that when switch 18 is closed, pilot light 19will glow and the transformer 15 will be energized. A low voltagecurrent will be emanated from the secondary connections 14 and passthrough wires 13, terminals 9, heat marking elements 8 and heating unit12. The heating unit generates heat, which causes elements 8 to reach atemperature sufiicient to scorch any fabric that should momentarily comein contact with said elements.

As will be seen in Figure 2, terminal blocks 11 and 11a are attached toa framework consisting of bars 23 and 24, respectively. Bar 23 isfastened in turn to both rails 21 and 22 by any suitable means, such asbolts, rivets or by welding, thereby maintaining terminal block 11 andits respective heating element in fixed position. Bar 24 is pivotallyconnected only to rail 22, therefore allowing lateral movement ofterminal block 11a with respect to terminal block 11 to increase ordecrease the distance between the two heat marking elements 8. Ra l 21is provided with stop members 25 for limiting the movement of bar 24.

An adjustment support bar 26 which is attached to the cabinet supportsan adjustment lever 27 which is pivotally connected to said support bar26 by suitable fastening means 28. The lower extremity of the adjustmentlever 27 is fork-shaped so as to slidably engage a vertical pin 29attached to the bar 24.

Attached to the upper end of the adjustment lever 27 are two shaftswhich project through two arcuate slots in the sloping front 3 of thecabinet. Fastened to the uppermost shaft is a knob 30 for convenientmanipulation of the adjustment lever 27. The lower shaft is threaded toreceive a locking device such as a wing nut 31.

It will thus be seen that when wing nut 31 is loosened, knob 30 may bemoved, which will transmit movement by adjustment lever 27 to thepivotable bar 24, by which action the distance between the two heatmarking elements 8 will be varied.

The terminal blocks 11 and 11a are equipped with stop guides 32, whichlimit or gauge the depth that the heat marking elements can penetrateinto the cloth being marked. These stop guides may be adjustably mountedrelative to the wires 8 upon the terminal blocks in any convenientmanner to permit various depths of markings.

The work top 5, which is of a different material than the remainder ofthe cabinet, as previously described, is attached to the cabinet byscrews 33 and is provided with openings 34 and 35 adjacent its rearedge. Opening 34 is large enough so that during removal for servicing,the work top will easily clear the heat marking element and terminalpost, while opening 35 is somewhat larger than opening 34 to allowclearance for the adjustable terminal block 11a and its heat markingelement and terminal post.

In operating the heat marker the edge of a pile of fabric to be markedis placed upon the Work top and guided into the heat marking elements.Only a very slight amount of pressure is required to cause the fabric toabut the stop guides 32 as the thin, hot elements 8 quickly and easilycut through the fabric, leaving clean, easily visible scorch marks alongthe edge of each piece of cloth in the pile.

Figures 3 and 4 illustrate a portable version of the invention employingthe same principle of a heated marking'element being used to scorch asingle piece of cloth or a pile of cloth.

In this embodiment a transformer a is enclosed within a casing 38 whichis mounted upon a base plate 36 having bevelled edges 37. A connectionbox 39 attached above the casing 38 receives the input wires 17a andhouses a single-pole switch 18a which is connected to one of said inputwires. Holes 39a are provided in the connection box to allow air toenter and cool the transformer and wires. Input wires 17a carryingl-volt current lead to a pair of primary connections 16a on thetransformer. Heat resistant wires 13a are attached to the secondaryconnections 14a.

The single heat marking element 8a, which is most clearly shown inFigure 4, lies flat upon the front surface of a heat resisting insulatorblock 40 and passes through holes 40a at the top and bottom of saidinsulator. Besides insulating the heat marking element from theremainder of the machine, the insulator block 40 imparts longitudinalrigidity to said marking element. The two ends of the heat markingelement 8a emerging from the rear of the insulator block 40 are eachattached to the ends of a terminal post 9a which is embedded in theinsulator block. A separate electrical heating unit 12a is connectedbetween each terminal post 9a and another threaded terminal post 9bwhich is also embeddedin the insulator block 40. The heads of theterminal posts are all countersunk in the insulator block 40 to preventtheir contacting the heat marking element 8a. The previously mentionedwires 13a leading from the secondary side of the transformer areconnected to the terminal posts 9b.

, Thus it will be seen that the low secondary voltage furnished by wires13a will activate the electrical heating units 12a which will generatethe heat necessary to cause the heat marking element 8a to reach atemperature sufficient to mark the cloth.

The insulator block and its heat marking element are supported betweentwo insulator shields 41 which fasten to the casing 38 and base plate36. Fastening means 42 which pass through holes 43 in the insulatorblock securely lock the heat marking assembly and insulator shieldstogether.

A handle 44 is attached to the base plate 36 by brackets 45 and 46.Positioned above the insulator block and centered over the heat markingelement 8a is a work guide 47 which indicates to the operator exactlywhere he should place the machine in order to mark a pile of cloth at aspecific point.

The bevelled edges 37 of the base plate allow the operator of theportable machine to readily slide the front of the base plate under apile of fabric until the heat marking element touches the pile.

It is an important advantage of the portable machine that it willoperate upon a much thicker pile of fabric than the stationary model,due to the fact that the heat marking element 8a is 'much larger thanelement 8, since it is rigidly supported by the insulator block 40.

I claim:

1. A device for marking scorched guide lines on superimposed plies offabric or the like, including, a housing having a work top provided withopenings adjacent the rear edge thereof, vertically arrangedelectrically heated marking elements disposed in said openings, means onthe housing for supporting one of said elements in a sta tionaryposition, means for pivotally supporting the other of said elements onthe housing for limited movement toward and from the other heatedelement, and handle means exterior of the housing connected with saidmeans pivotally supporting one of said marking elements to adjust thesame relative to the other, and means for locking said handle in a setposition.

2. A device for marking scorched guide lines on superimposed plies offabric or the like, including, a housing having a work top provided withopenings adjacent the rear edge thereof, vertically arrangedelectrically heated marking elements disposed in said openings, aframework within the housing for adjustably supporting said elements andcomprising, a pair of spaced parallel rails disposed in fixedrelationship to said housing and an adjustment support bar carrying oneof said marking elements pivotally connected at its rearmost end to oneof said rails, stop abutments on the other of said rails disposed oneither side of said adjustment support bar for limiting the movement ofsaid support bar and its cooperating marking element.

3. A device for marking scorched guide lines on fabric or the like,including, a housing provided with an opening, a heat marking elementcomprising a length of vertically exposed wire, an insulator blockexposed within said opening of the housing, said marking element mountedupon said insulator block so that at least one of the ends thereofpasses through to the back of said block, an electrical resistanceheating unit mounted upon the back of said insulator block and connectedwith said marking element, means for converting a high voltagelowresistance current supply into a low voltage-high resistance currentsupply, and means for connecting said electrical heating unit in serieswith said heat marking unit and said low voltage-high resistance currentsupply.

4. A portable device adapted to be manually manipulated over asupporting surface to place scorched marking lines on superimposed pliesof fabric or the like, including, a housing, a base plate upon whichsaid housing is mounted and adapted to be moved to the edge of thematerial to be marked, a vertically arranged heat marking element,electrical resistance heating units connected with said marking element,said element comprising a wire of such diameter as to be inherentlyflexible and lacking longitudinal rigidity, an insulator block on whichsaid marking element is mounted So that its entire vertical markinglength throughout is maintained in direct contact with said insulatorblock, a supply of low voltage electrical energy, and means connectingsaid electrical heating units in series with said electrical energy andsaid heat marking element.

5. A portable electrical marking device according to claim 3, wherein,the upper and lower ends of said vertical heat marking element projectrearwardly through 5 said insulator block.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 6Walter Jan. 9, 1934 Maxfield Mar. 24, 1936 Leibowitz Feb. 11, 1941Elstad Nov. 2, 1948 Martin Jan. 17, 1950 Elstad Oct. 2, 1951 Jaye Oct.19, 1954 Elstad July 12, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS Australia Sept. 30, 1942

